Kylah is a hormone and cycle health educator known online as Cycle with Kylah.
In this episode, you're going to learn how years of debilitating gut pain led Kylah to try the carnivore diet and eventually discover the connection between hormonal birth control and gut health. You will also learn how she used nutrition to manage her Tourettes without medication, the simple truth about how female cycles work (and why most of us were never taught this), why you can only get pregnant a few days a month, and what to do if you want to get off hormonal birth control but don’t know where to start.Kylah is dedicated to helping women understand their bodies, balance their hormones, and thrive without relying on hormonal birth control. After suffering from years of debilitating gut pain and being misdiagnosed with IBS, Kylah discovered the connection between her symptoms and hormonal birth control. Through a journey of dietary changes, including experimenting with the carnivore diet and embracing whole foods, she managed to heal her gut, restore her natural cycle, and even alleviate her Tourettes symptoms without medication. Now, Kylah empowers women with knowledge about their cycles, fertility awareness, and natural approaches to reproductive health.
Timestamps:
[00:00] Introduction
[04:05] Doctors offering no real solutions
[04:55] Daily smoothies that made symptoms worse
[05:45] Discovering the carnivore diet
[06:20] First experience fasting and cutting vegetables
[07:30] Seeing a functional medicine doctor
[08:00] Learning how birth control impacts gut health
[08:30] First steps off birth control
[09:00] Realizing she didn’t understand her cycle
[09:35] Learning about ovulation and progesterone
[10:35] Only fertile five days a month
[11:00] Overview of the three phases of the menstrual cycle
[11:30] What happens during the follicular phase
[12:15] Explaining ovulation in simple terms
[13:00] How sperm timing affects pregnancy
[13:45] The role of the luteal phase and progesterone
[15:30] Understanding the purpose of each phase
[17:30] Using fertility awareness as birth control
[18:10] How tracking helped her avoid pregnancy
[19:20] Why natural pregnancy prevention works
[20:00] Her thoughts on cycle syncing trends
[20:30] What Kylah eats in a typical day
[21:00] Why she stopped eating carnivore long-term
[21:30] Intuitive eating instead of strict rules
[23:00] Why she avoids most grains
[23:30] What her coffee includes every morning
[25:00] How cravings are tied to gut bacteria
[26:15] What ancestral nutrition means to her
[26:45] Why lab-made food doesn’t make sense
[27:20] Gut health and family lineage
[29:30] Focusing on micronutrients over calories
[31:50] Having Tourettes and managing it naturally
[34:30] Clean eating drastically improved symptoms
[36:30] Advocating for yourself when the system doesn’t help
[39:00] How to talk to your doctor about quitting birth control
[40:30] How to support your body post birth control
[41:15] Your body was designed to cycle naturally
[42:00] Your period comes back when the body is ready
If you want to learn more about Kylah’s work, follow her on Instagram and subscribe to her YouTube channel.
Resources Mentioned:
Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler | Book
JP Sears podcast episode with Paul Saladino | Podcast
Force of Nature Meats | Website
The Intentional Health Podcast with Kylah Smook | Podcast
Affiliates:
Shop my favorite clean products & get 10% off here with code CRUNCHYMOM
The air purifier I trust at home - get $100 off here
Our go-to for pure, clean water - get $100 off here
